The United Nations says forced displacement is one of the “most disturbing” humanitarian crises in the world.
More than 230,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the year amid escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, According to the United Nations.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday described the displacement as the “most worrying” humanitarian crisis in the world.
The resource-rich eastern provinces of North and South Kivu — home to more than 4.6 million displaced people according to the agency — have been mired in conflict for three decades, with the M23 rebel group becoming one of the most powerful armed groups in the country. Recent years.
The M23 Movement, which the DRC government has designated as a “terrorist movement,” has controlled large areas of eastern DRC since 2021 and, earlier this month, took control of the town of Masisi in North Kivu.
Earlier this month, Bertrand Bisemois, head of the political wing of the M23 movement, told Al Jazeera that the group was fighting a “defensive” war.
“The escalating clashes between non-state armed groups and the Congolese army in North and South Kivu provinces are exacerbating one of the world’s most alarming and under-covered humanitarian crises,” UNHCR spokesman Eugene Bion told reporters in Geneva.
Bion warned that the conflict was “characterized by widespread human rights violations and widespread forced displacement.”
Bion noted that the fierce fighting in the Masisi and Lubero regions forced about 150,000 people to flee their homes between January 1 and 6 alone. Many returned briefly during a lull in fighting on January 4, but were forced to flee again as new fighting broke out, according to the UN.
In the Fizi province of South Kivu, the local government requested international assistance, noting that 84,000 people had taken refuge there.
Bion warned that civilians were suffering from “indiscriminate bombing and sexual violence,” with children also being targeted.
“The harsh humanitarian conditions are already rapidly deteriorating, and access to these vulnerable populations is severely restricted by insecurity, roadblocks and the presence of violent armed actors,” Pune added.
UNHCR has announced that it is ready to provide assistance once access is restored, but stressed that more funding is urgently needed.